David Benioff Quick Links

They'll be unveiling a new set of films set in a galaxy far, far away.

With 'Game Of Thrones' set to wrap with its final series in 2019, creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are preparing to transition into an exciting new project. They're planning to take on the 'Star Wars' universe with a series of spin-off films of their own which can only be a recipe for success.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss at 'Game of Thrones' season premiere

The writers have won four Emmys for their worldwide small screen phenomenon that is 'Game of Thrones', based on the book series by George R.R. Martin, and now they have set their sights on the world of cinema with an extension into the already hugely popular 'Star Wars' franchise.

It stings a little that we're already over a quarter of the way through 'Game of Thrones' season 7, but this week's second episode of the season certainly sent the pace flying forward, as battles took place, playing pieces were moved and character development was at an all-time high.

Arya Stark took her revenge in the 'Game of Thrones' season 6 finale

The popularity of the episode's final moments, as a battle took place between Daenerys' loyal Greyjoy fleet and the attacking Euron Greyjoy on behalf of the Lannisters, is undeniable, but there was another scene that may have stolen the entire show.

Amanda Peet, the actor married to ‘Game of Thrones’ showrunner David Benioff, in a recent interview revealed the death of one of her favourite characters on the show was enough for her to consider divorcing her husband.

Amanda Peet is considering divorcing her husband, Game Of Thrones showrunner David Benioff, because he did not forewarn her of the death of one of her favourite characters on the show (spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t seen season 5).

Amanda Peet at the 87th Academy Awards Vanity Fair party in Los Angeles, February 2015.

The actress behind Daenerys Targaryen discusses the privilege of starring in 'Game of Thrones' - and gets excited about season six.

Fresh from her Primetime Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen, 'Game of Thrones' star Emilia Clarke is already getting excited about the sixth season of the fantasy series, telling fans to expect some "mental" scenes.

Emilia Clarke promises big things for 'Game of Thrones'

Speaking to Variety, the actress said, "I'm looking forward to absolutely every part of it, it's like go-go-go from episode one.

With Ned's execution, two major battles, and the still-painful Red Wedding rounding off the penultimate episode of each 'Game of Thrones' series, "episode nine" has always been the one to watch out for. This year, the show took a darker, more personal twist.

HBO's 'Game Of Thrones' has been getting a lot of criticism this year for it's massively dramatic departures from the book series 'A Song of Ice and Fire', upon which the show is based. While series creator George R. R. Martin stated on his official blog "there has seldom been any TV series as faithful to its source material" and reiterated how the show and the books are entirely separate stories, albeit with the same intended ending.

Shireen Baratheon (Kerry Ingram) falls victim to the ninth episode

That still doesn't excuse the sudden, unexpected (and rather brutal execution) of a young girl, in Sunday night's infamous Episode Nine 'The Dance of Dragons'. Written by show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the episode saw Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) hounded by Ramsey Bolton's (Iwan Rheon) guerrilla tactics, and offering his daughter Shireen (Kerry Ingram) to the priestess Melisandre (Carice Van Houten) as a sacrifice. Said sacrifice involved burning her alive to appease the Red God, with the hopes of turning their luck and winning him the Iron Throne once and for all.

The actor's unexpected death and his contribution to the show will be respected by the producer.

Following actor JJ Murphy’s death on Monday, his character in Game of Thrones is still in question. The actor had just started filming as Ser Denys Mallister in the HBO series, when he collapsed and died on Friday. Mr. Murphy was 84.

JJ Murphy's role will not be re-cast for season 5.

With his theater background, Murphy was a great choice for the role calm, kind and courteous Ser Mallister. Murphy had been working on the Northern Irish theatre scene since the 1940s and was an active member of Equity, the British actors’ union and had worked for years at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre. Murphy also played a village elder in the upcoming feature Dracula Untold and appeared in the CBBC series The Sparticle Mystery.

This remake of Susanne Bier's 2004 drama is an equally powerful story of family tensions and how violence affects more than just the victim. But the original Danish film's strained melodrama translates here as well.

Sam Cahill (Maguire) is a loyal Marine getting ready to head back to Afghanistan with his men. His wife Grace (Portman) is trying to be strong for their young daughters (Madison and Geare), but his stern father (Shepard) couldn't be prouder. Just before he ships out, Sam's black-sheep brother Tommy (Gyllenhaal) gets out of prison and, when Sam is reported killed in action, he rises to the challenge to help care for Grace and the girls. But several months later Sam is found, and what he experienced has left him dangerously paranoid.

Practically no other nation's modern history has been so rife with grief and shattered expectations as that of Afghanistan; a fact utilized to maximum effect by Marc Foster in his adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's book club blockbuster The Kite Runner. Starting in the relatively chaos-free years before the Soviet invasion and concluding in the middle of the Taliban's theocratic lockdown, the film manages the difficult task of tracking massive historical upheavals while keeping tightly focused on the people forced to live through such tumultuous changes.

The character who ties the whole narrative together is Amir, a spoiled brat of a kid who turns into a spoiled writer as an adult only to grudgingly submit himself to the rigors of becoming a hero near the conclusion. In the mid-1970s, the young Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) lives with his prosperous father, or Baba, in a nice house in Kabul. Amir lives a pretty decent and sheltered life, his best friend, the fiercely loyal Hassan (played with emphatic nobility by Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada), is the son of the family's head servant, and will do practically anything Amir wants. His Baba is a proudly educated and modern man, with his jazz records, turtlenecks, bottles of liquor, and well-kept Mustang; the last particularly beloved by the Steve McQueen-worshipping boys. Amir and Hassan are an excellent team when it comes to the fascinating Afghan take on kite-flying, where pairs of boys get into high-altitude duels, trying to cut the strings of their opponents kites (the sport was later banned when the Taliban came to power).

"War is young men dying and old men talking," bellows one Greek leader following a mighty clash in Troy. He might as well be talking about the movie itself. Director Wolfgang Petersen heaps handfuls of clashing titans together with dry speeches on historic nobility. He ends up with a handsome yet long-winded restaging of the war waged between Greece and the warriors of Troy over the hand of lovely Helen (Diane Kruger, a nondescript mixture of Leelee Sobieski and Natalie Portman).

Troy leaves the talking to its triumvirate of Hollywood royalty - Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson, and Peter O'Toole. The dying is left up to the chiseled and marketable studs - Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, and Brad Pitt. Whenever a member of the veteran trio interacts with a member of the other on screen, it creates a mismatch of talent not even a Trojan Horse could overcome.

If you were to write a screenplay about a drug dealer who has just 24 hours of freedom left before he begins a seven-year prison sentence, what would you have him do? Repent? Fashion an elaborate escape? Have plenty of sex? That's probably why you haven't authored any Oscar-quality screenplays lately. Writer David Benioff, on the other hand, is likely to see a little golden statuette up close next year for his work on 25th Hour, a remarkable new film based on his novel of the same name.

Neither tearjerker nor suspenseful crime drama, 25th Hour is extraordinary in that it avoids all the clichés that such a premise so often invites. It is instead a carefully focused character study about a charismatic but condemned man who must come to grips with his sentence before morning. Edward Norton plays Montgomery Brogan, the felon in question. He spends his last free hours visiting his father (Brian Cox) and attending a going away party in his honor at a New York nightclub. In tow are his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson) and his two childhood pals, Frank (Barry Pepper) and Jakob (Philip Seymour Hoffman) -- the latter of which is so perfectly cast that you can't help but chuckle the first time you see Hoffman give his usual dyspeptic sneer, signaling that he is disgusted not only with his high school English students but essentially the entire outcome of his life.